International students' mobility is increasing day by day around the world. As a result, many international postgraduate students enroll in Chinese universities for higher studies and exchange programs every year. The more international postgraduate students enrolled, the more challenges and problems encountered by local universities. This paper…

There is often little opportunity to think deeply about educational practice, and curriculum in particular in universities today, yet this is a much-needed conversation as graduates encounter an increasingly complex world. We propose ways of thinking and practising (WTP) as an idea to help frame these complex conversations. In this conceptual…

As a result of reported failings in the care of people in the health and social care sector in the United Kingdom (UK), Higher Education (HE) providers who produce professionals to work in these areas are being challenged to address caring values in the student body. As values are subjective and affective, this requires the learning environment to…

This reflective essay tells the story of the transition of a Hollywood director to the professoriate. Jack Sholder's name may be familiar to those who are film buffs. As a filmmaker in Hollywood, he directed such films as "Alone in the Dark," "Nightmare on Elm Street 2," and "The Hidden." In addition, he won an Emmy…

Think of the United States Military Academy and the typical images are of duty, character, leadership, and possibly even regimented conformity. Intellectual liberation, integrative innovation, and holistic development--hallmarks of a liberal education--are not always associated with the public's perception of the West Point experience. Yet,…

Through support of the National Science Foundation's Department Level Reform program, "Engineering Students for the 21st Century" (ES21C) has implemented a ten-course sequence designed to help students develop into engineers. Spread across the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) curriculum at Oklahoma State University, these…

Describes Robert Kegan's theory of meaning-making--how individuals make sense of knowledge, experience, relationships, and the self. Applies the theory to college students and how their understanding of their experience, themselves, and their relationships with others mediates learning. Draws implications for the design of college curricular…

Montclair (New Jersey) State College sought to develop a structure that would facilitate the strengthening of humanistic perspectives in its students and would enable students to see the connections between their academic studies and the complex aspects of the meaning of being human in a world that is increasingly fragmented. Six pairs of faculty…

A participant in a conference on interdisciplinary general education at the college level highlights some of the issues addressed there: institutional limitations and opportunities; interdisciplinarity versus the power of deep disciplinary inquiry; cross-disciplinary linkages versus interdisciplinary inquiry; and the role of student development…

Curricular change for colleges for the twenty-first century is addressed. It is argued that the simple presentation of facts and solutions in schooling must be altered. Students must be prepared for an adaptive mode of living and learning since jobs may change drastically every 5 to 10 years. Criteria that can be used to judge curricula for the…

This discussion of the role of general education in community college programs in Ontario begins with an acknowledgement of the absence of a broadly accepted working definition of general education and an admonition to community colleges to accept the responsibility for providing students with a total education. Next, the paper proposes various…

Information on the Colorado College Plan, students and faculty at Colorado College, and reactions to the Colorado College Plan is presented. The plan is a revised curricular program, a main feature of which is the division of the academic year into nine blocks. Students take one course per block, faculty members teach a single course, and varied…

A classification system for freshman courses that is useful as a planning tool and descriptive guide is presented and examples of analogous programs are described. Three approaches to freshman courses--interdisciplinary, developmental, and utilitarian--form a continuum, since many courses are derived from more than one philosophical base. The…

An investigation conducted at Suffolk University as a basis for developing a course in career and life planning is described, and the course units that were produced are outlined. The literature survey investigated: the historical development of career and life planning from Frank Parson (1909) to the present; kindergarten to adult programs; and…

The Student Learning Imperative (SLI) was created to stimulate discussion on how student affairs professionals can enhance student learning and personal development. This paper outlines the antecedents and background of the SLI position paper. A member of the committee that developed the SLI discusses here student affairs' historical goal of…